"The
following is a guest review. The review
and photos do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Michael Crawford
or Michael's Review of the Week, and are the opinion and work of the
guest author."

One of the better Hot Toys
figures from last year was the revised Iron Man MK1 outfit, labeled
'2.0'. Jeff is here to give us the lowdown - take it away, Jeff!

A big thank you to Michael as always, and welcome to 2013 (I have no
idea when this will go up, but it might be my first review of the
year!).

Way back in the mists of July of 2009 I reviewed the first version of
this figure to hit the collecting community, and it hit many as
something of an unexpected surprise. I’d personally said it was the one
I was most looking forward from the then announced line-up, as with its
cobbled together beat-up, junk-yard aesthetic, it appealed even more
than the super sleek Ferraris that were to follow. And it would seem it
hit something of a note with the collecting community as well.

You have to remember that four years ago the economy was already well
into a down turn, but it didn’t seem to have bitten quite as hard or
affected people quite as deeply as it did in the following months and
years. Back then it was possible to pick up a top quality figure like
this for $ 170, admittedly that is still a lot of money, but it all
becomes relative as one becomes numb to the pain. However, his
popularity and scarceness of availability soon drove those RRP’s
skyward on the secondary markets, and as always he became worth
whatever someone was willing to pay (which was often well North of
$400).

The figure managed to keep his popularity, as with each new generation
of power-suit released we basically got a souped-up version of what had
come before, but the MKI always stood out as something just a little
bit special. So with the secondary market prices going crazy, it stood
to reason that we needed a new version, and a new version we got!

In essence this
is pretty much the same as the first version,
and as that one was so well designed and constructed, there seemed
little point in fixing something that wasn’t broke. However in the
great tradition of Hot Toys wanting to tweak at least a few elements on
their re-releases, this time around we get a far superior sculpt on the
Tony Stark ‘reveal’ head, a new diorama base, a sculpted flame to
attach to his arm, and if you were lucky enough to secure an exclusive
version, we also get a holographic projection of the MK I suit for Tony
to paw over back at his lab!

However, if you do already own the first release of this striking
figure, do you need a second… lets see!!

Packaging
- ****
This is a nice bit of design, no two ways about it, but it has a lot to
live up to! The first box was amongst the first wave of Iron Man
figures, which will be remembered for the uber cool designs they
sported. If you were collecting them back then you will remember the
thick cardboard die-cut panel on the front that unwound from a magnetic
clasp on the side to expose the mechanical workings of the suit
beneath. And the box for the MKI even had an outer slipcase to mimic
the shipping crate that the suit was sent home in.

The new box still has a very cool look, and again features an outer
sleeve, but this one is designed to look like welded panels of the
armour with die-cut gaps through which we can see the inner box. The
inner part is covered in a mottled dark brown effect that mimics the
leather under-suit that Tony wore whilst wearing this armour. The front
flap of this box can be lifted to display the figure through the
die-cut acetate fronted window. Inside the figure and accessories are
held securely between layers of vac-formed trays and all is as
collector friendly as you’d expect.

So even though I still prefer that original box (lets face it, it’s
become a modern classic in certain circles). I still have to hold more
than a grudging respect for this one, and it is therefore still worthy
of a full score… well, to me anyway!

Sculpting - ****
As far as the actual suit is concerned this is pretty much a re-use of
what came before, and I shall cover that later… well, I say cover, what
I’ll actually do is be lazy and link o my review of the first one.

So here we are just purely looking at the portrait of Robert Downey Jnr
as Tony Stark. It has to be said that this is the element that leaps
out as being most improved in this re-release, and it showcases just
what a quantum leap Hot Toys has mad in terms of general likeness, fine
detail on the skin texturing and the quality of the paint app that
brings all these aspects to life. At the time of release I liked the
first portrait, it wasn’t perfect, but judged against the general
quality available back then it did its job admirably (certainly when
compared to the larger scaled SS Premium Format figure which bore an
uncanny resemblance to Tim Curry).

This time around we get 1/6th sculpting master KoJun producing the
portrait, and he manages to show just how adept he has become at
capturing some of the more subtle nuances in Downey Jnr’s face. Here he
is shown with an angry and focussed expression that fits the figures
demeanour well (I take it everyone reading has seen the movie). His
brow is furrowed and his determined features carry all of the usual
fine detailing on the pores and creases within the skin. The hair is
sweaty and hangs down over his forehead from within the helmet, which
isn’t removable but does have the same lift up flap design as the first
version. It comes packed separately and just needs to be clipped into
place.

So all in all I’m impressed with this sculpt, there’s nothing to
complain about, but the bitter sweet irony is that for most it will
displayed with the face-plate down anyway.

Paint
- ****
Once again we get a faultless paint app, I know, it gets a little
predictable, but what can I say? Not only is the armour painted to look
convincingly like sheets of scrap steel, welded together with its
jig-saw like appearance of industrial panels still bearing the
distressed graphics and stencilled logos of their previous
incarnations, but we also get a killer pain app on the portrait.

I shall focus this section on the face, as the paint for the armour is
best covered in that section.

As usual the master of ceremonies here was JC Hong and he’s managed to
pull off another top job. All is right in the world when he’s at the
helm, and with his constant top billing on the packaging alongside the
HT CEO Howard Chan it seems to be a safe bet he’s sticking with the
company. As lets face it, if I were the competition I’d be trying to
poach him away with the offer of a big juicy carrot hanging under his
nose. Yes, other companies are fast playing catch up, but until they
can manage to put out the number of units that Hot Toys do, with such
consistently high quality, then their position at the head of top table
seems to be unchallenged!

Here the skin colouration illustrates that Stark has been in a sweaty
dirty environment, and all the tones used compliment this fact with a
warm earthy paint job. The hair is picked out crisply where it hangs
down, and the eyes are given the usual sparkle. Top job, and when
viewed alongside the amazing work on the armour this just has to be a
full score, outstanding yet again!

Accessories
- ***1/2
The original figure came with little more than the actual outfit he
stood up in. OK there was a stand and a selection of hands but that was
it. This time we are slightly better serviced with-

Apart from the new portrait, the other cool new addition here is the
themed figure stand. It’s sculpted to look like a patch of the desert
floor near the cave that Stark emerges from when first dressed in the
outfit. It has a few pieces of debris like ammo cases, scraps of wood
and a Stark Industries container. You can attach a crotch hammock style
stand to prop the figure against, but he stands just fine without it,
so I used my base purely to set the scene with the figure stepping up
onto it.

The plume of fire that attaches to the flamethrower attachments at his
wrist is also rather cool, and when well lit from behind it can look
pretty convincing. However, it is quite a weighty item and I found the
arm slowly drooped when displayed with it attached. So, cool for a few
photo-shoots rather than a long-term display item… in my case anyway!

The selection of hands is the same as before, consisting of two fists
and two relaxed, not many I grant you, but for this particular figure
they more than suffice. And as this set of armour used leather gloves
rather than segmented armoured hand coverings, the articulated hands
weren’t so much of an option either.

The ‘exclusive’ bonus with this figure is the holographic projection of
the suit. It’s made of a translucent green plastic, and as you would
expect from Hot Toys, it comes packing a ton of detail into what is a
pretty small-scale figure. It works like the flame, in so much as the
fine detail is better appreciated when illuminated from below or back
lit (try downloading a torch app for your phone or tablet and you’ll
see what I mean). It’s a cute bonus item to use if you plan on setting
up a diorama of Tony’s lab with the new
‘Hall of Armour’ display cases, the ‘Mech Test Tony’ set and
maybe even the suit up gantry. But like all the best ‘exclusives’ it is
a cute bonus, rather than an essential item.

Articulation
- **1/2This category once again
emulates my old review, so go read that for more details. But it’s fair
to say that if you were loaded into this armour I doubt you’d be
particularly agile, bear that in mind whilst you read it!

Outfit
- ****
OK, I said I would be lazy here, and I’m sorry to say I shall be! I had
hoped to pull the first version out of storage so I could do a few side
by side comp shots for the review, but the cataloguing of my collection
needs to enter a new phase in the New Year, I was able to locate
virtually all of my Iron Man collection within minutes… but the MK I
was not there, I have a feeling that because of some full boxes he
worked his way into ‘General Marvel’ figures along with Whiplash, who
was also AWOL! So I’m just going to have to trust the old pics from
both Mike’s and my old reviews.

I’m reasonably confident that this is pretty much an exact re-use of
the first figures armour, that you can check out here. Which also means
you can fall back on that old review for a reasonably comprehensive
breakdown on its functionality. Suffice to say this is just as
outstanding as that one, and showcases to anyone of a certain age how
the toys we wanted as kids are now available to us as adults… as long
as you were the kind of kid who kept the faith and still appreciates
these mini marvels all those years later.

Although the armour’s actual sculpt is the same, it does seem that the
paint app shows a degree of improvement, with slightly more grime and
weathering being applied. The areas where the stencilled graphics and
weathered and peeling paint are featured show a more subtle and
convincing finish to the distressed look of their predecessors.

But to sum up, just as I did in my previous review for this amazing
figure, it must be regarded as a small work of art, both in the detail
of the sculpt and in the beautifully realised engineering
involved. If you missed out last time around, don’t make the
same mistake twice, this is a bona fide classic!

Light
Up Feature - ****
What is an Iron man figure without an illuminating ARC reactor set into
his chest? That’s right, he’s perfectly acceptable… however, if you CAN
include one without compromising on accuracy (and in this case it
enhances it) then it’s a fine feature to include. Inside the drum on
the right hand side of his rear mounted ‘apparatus’ is the power
source, simply undo it and pull it out from beneath. Pull out the small
plastic battery divider and then push and twist it back into position.
You will then see a small and well-camouflaged button to its left that
you simply push in to illuminate the lights.

There is the bright white one in the chest and a smaller red one on the
inner panel of the left arm. Both lit up brightly on mine and
stayed bright throughout my photo shoot.

Value
- ****
At $219.99 this is a whole $50 more than the original. Of course Hot
Toys have spent a reasonable amount on the development and sculpting of
the new elements, and manufacturing costs have risen steeply in the
three and a half years since that first figures release. So in the
present climate I actually see that as a not too unreasonable increase
in price. Now, anyone who reads my reviews on a regular basis will be
aware that the sticking point for me on awarding full scores is often
the cost. However, even though this is a figure that requires the
outlay of two Benjamin’s and a Jackson, I still have absolutely no
qualms in awarding a full score here. If you get the chance to look
over this figure and have a little play with all those cool articulated
panels on his armour, do it, and you will see why I’m so very
impressed! This coupled with the cool new sculpt makes for an essential
figure in your collection, and one that has consistently stayed in the
top ten of my favourite 1/6th figures of all time, well, so far anyway!
And of course this one is an improvement on the one I base that claim
on, so in short I’d say buy while you still can, it is in my opinion a
true classic!

Fun
Factor - ***1/2
I posed the question at the beginning of this review as to whether you
actually need a second version (assuming you have the first) and the
truthful answer is no! If like most you plan to display your figure
with the faceplate lowered, then the amazing new sculpt becomes a moot
issue anyway. However, if you are a dyed in the wool aficionado of all
things ‘Shell Head’ then those extra tweaks might just sway you. And
when I finally get around to making a display of the full line up
(it’ll be about the time I accidentally become a multi-millionaire and
move into that sprawling mansion I’ve promised myself) then this
version to display in an action pose and the old one to place in a
Stark ‘Hall of Armour’ set-up seems like quite an appealing idea. And
with second versions of the MK II and MK III now in my collection it
could become a reality!

And as far as fun goes, nothing has changed since I got that first
version, its an amazing looking figure and even with his limited range
of movement he poses and displays incredibly well.

The one thing it would be prudent to mention here is that being so
incredibly detailed there is always the potential for breakages should
large clumsy or small inquisitive hands get laid upon it… be cautious!

Overall- ****
I guess it might have become apparent that I’m more than a little fond
of this particular figure. The attention to detail on the finer points
of engineering and sculpting are literally second to none. The addition
of the new portrait and the cool diorama base, not to mention the
attachable flame and bonus hologram mean this figure still manages to
put a big grin on my face.

Of course the biggest change from that first release is just how much
prices have jumped since then, and with a real ‘$’ in your pocket
difference of $50 it might be the factor that makes those with the
first one decide to just stick with it. However, if you were one of
those patiently watching the old ones on eBay, just waiting for the
right moment to pounce, well, then this release must have been like
manna from heaven.

It certainly put-paid to greedy scalpers (at least for a while), as
after all this is toy collecting, not stocks and shares!

Where to Buy -
Sideshow still have the regular version (with no hologram accessory)
available at the full RRP of $219.99 here.

However, I did find it with some site sponsors for a slightly better
price. Fanboy has him here
for a very competitive $199.99 and BBTS has it for the same price-here. Or
you can try eBay
where BIN prices are between $210 up to $250.

This product was provided for the review by the reviewer.
Photos and text by Jeff Parker.